Tatay Din ba Ang Tawag mo sa Kanya?

Tatay din ba Ang Tawag Mo sa Kanya?

I have my biological father, side by side with my spiritual father (priest). When I was in grade 5, I was with my foster father. Since I entered the seminary I have had many spiritual fathers, all of them guided me along on my journey to keep in touch with our heavenly Father!

It is really amazing that the roles of our fathers (whichever human aspect we identify) cannot be measured only by means of the things or services they rendered to us. From the moment we were born, their images were the comforting symbols and icons of love that we’ve ever experienced.

The Bible says; "You have only one Father" (Mt 23:9). There is but one fatherhood, that of God the Father, ". Yet man, created in the image of God, has been granted a share in this one paternity of God (cf. Eph 3:15). Saint Joseph is a striking case of this, since he is a father, without fatherhood according to the flesh. He is not the biological father of Jesus, whose Father is God alone, and yet he lives his fatherhood fully and completely. To be a father means above all to be at the service of life and growth. Saint Joseph, in this sense, gave proof of great devotion. For the sake of Christ he experienced persecution, exile and the poverty which this entails. He had to settle far from his native town. His only reward was to be with Christ. St. Joseph doesn't appear much in the bible or in history, but what is there he speaks of volumes about what it means to be an earthly father as well as how God the Father in Heaven wants to relate to us. His every action is motivated by love. His concern for Mary's honor, his willingness to do whatever needed despite the cost to protect and provide for her and for Jesus is a reflection of the love God has for us. Joseph did all what should be done because he loved God. And from that love of God, his spousal love for Mary flowed together with his love for Jesus flowed from that same love of God.

Pope Benedict XVI on his homily addressed to all priest mentioned; “St. Joseph teaches us that it is possible to love without possessing. In contemplating Joseph, all men and women can, by God’s grace, come to experience healing from their emotional wounds, if only they embrace the plan that God has begun to bring about in those close to him, just as Joseph entered into the work of redemption through Mary and as a result of what God had already done in her. The Holy Father wants to emphasize that the fatherhood of St. Joseph is the model fatherhood that all priests should imitate and practice especially in tending the flock of the Church. And he added “The ministerial priesthood entails a profound relationship with Christ who is given to us in the Eucharist. Let the celebration of the Eucharist be truly the centre of your priestly lives; in this way it will also be the centre of your ecclesial mission.

We call our biological fathers in many names, daddy, erpat, tatay, ama; and we also call priests, as fathers or reverend fathers or padre for they are like fathers who guides us and provide us with spiritual nourishment; how about to St. Joseph? Kung kay birheng Maria tawag natin ay Ina, Kay San Jose, Tatay din ba ang tawag mo sa kanya?

Changing Horizons ( Jan. 2010) issue

Welcome 2010! “It’s another new year! They say that this is the starting time of changing horizons and of building fresh ideas, of shifting to good attitudes and saying goodbyes to our old bad ways. But this time, I want to emphasize our gaze to our priests, to understand them in the two paradigms they are in ( between the demands of divine vocation and the limitations of their human conditions) and knowing them better as human persons and as God’s servants. One time that I passed by in our seminary library, I happened to browse a magazine telling a story about some conditions of the priests nowadays. I was struck to a blog comment written in it and widely spread to the net telling “A Priest is Always Wrong”. Being curious about it, I searched it through the “Google” and alas I found it!

“If he begins his mass on time, his watch is advanced; If he begins a minute later, he keeps people waiting. If he preaches too long, he makes people get bored; If his homily is too short, he is unprepared. If he owns a car, he is luxurious; If he does not own one, he does not go with the times. If he goes out to visit families, he is always out: If he does not, he has no time for them. If he asks for donations, he is a moneymaker; If he does not do it, he is too proud and lazy. If he takes time in the confessional, he is too slow; If he makes it too fast, he has no time for his penitents. If he renovates the church, he throws away money; If he does not do it, he allows everything to rot away. If he is with the youth, he forgets the old. If he is seen with women, he is a playboy; If he goes with men, he is not normal; If he is young, he has no experience; If he is old, he should retire. As long as he lives, there are always people who are better than him;

BUT IF THE PRIEST DIES....THERE IS NOBODY TO TAKE HIS PLACE!” (http://www.madharasan.blogspot.com/2008/12/priest-is-always-wrong-because.html)
Perhaps upon reading this blog article, you may find it cliché but in a true sense it captures the realities and challenges that confront our priest today. Are you one of those who are commenting such litany of negative things to a priest?
It is often a challenge to all of us to comprehend realities especially if it is under the state of inconsistencies particularly in matters about priesthood. The Year of Priest as it was started last June 2009 and will end up this June 2010 will be a time for us to set new horizons in seeing and dealing with our priests. We may considered it as a hallowed inspiration that the year is aptly heralded by the image of a cleric who is, by world’s measures, so inadequate that he could very well personify what could be called substandard, insufficient and unworthy (BF. 333).
They are not perfect beings incapable of mistakes and limitations but they are like us who are in need of support, prayers and understanding. As Pope Benedict mentioned in one of his homilies addressed to the priests “the ascent toward the shepherd's ministry is the Cross. This is the true way to rise; this is the true door. It is not the desire to become "someone" for oneself, but rather to exist for others, for Christ, and thus through him and with him to be there for the people he seeks, whom he wants to lead on the path of life.
Dear friends, let us pray ever anew for this intention, for the sanctification of our beloved priests so that through them, the image of Christ will grow within us and through their works and ministries will make us united in Christ and become more ever deeper.

BY : Allen Iñigo, SSS

A Prayer for priests (dec. issue)

A Prayer for Priests

Dear Lord,
we pray that the Blessed Mother wrap her mantle around your priests and through her
intercession strengthen them for their ministry.

We pray that Mary will guide your priests to follow her own words, “Do whatever He tells you” (Jn 2:5). May your priests have the heart of St. Joseph,
Mary’s most chaste spouse.
May the Blessed Mother’s own pierced heart inspire them to embrace all who suffer at the foot of the cross.

May your priests be holy,
filled with the fire of your love
seeking nothing but your greater glory and the salvation of souls. Amen.
Saint John Vianney, pray for us.

Merry Christmas and A Godly Year!

“A Prayer for Priests”
approved by the USCCB Committee on Clergy,
Consecrated Life, and Vocations

Prayer For the Faithful Departed

Prayer for the Faithful Departed
(Venerable) John Henry Newman
O GOD of the Spirits of all flesh, O Jesus, Lover of souls, we recommend unto You the souls of all those Your servants, who have departed with the sign of faith and sleep, the sleep of peace. We beseech You, O Lord and Savior, that, as in Your mercy to them You became man, so now You would hasten the time, and admit them to Your presence above. Remember, O Lord, that they are Your creatures, not made by strange gods, but by You, the only Living and True God; for there is no other God but You, and none that can equal Thy works. Let their souls rejoice in Your light, and impute not to them their former iniquities, which they committed through the violence of passion, or the corrupt habits of their fallen nature. For, although they have sinned, yet they always firmly believed in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and before they died, they reconciled themselves to You by true contrition and the Sacraments of Thy Church.
O Gracious Lord, we beseech You, remember not against them the sins of their youth and their ignorances but according to Your great mercy, be mindful of them in Your heavenly glory. May the heavens be opened to them, and the Angels rejoice with them. May the Archangel St Michael conduct them to You. May Your holy Angels come forth to meet them, and carry them to the city of the heavenly Jerusalem. May St Peter, to whom You gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven, receive them. May St Paul, the vessel of election, stand by them. May St John, the beloved disciple, who had the revelation of the secrets of heaven, intercede for them. May all the Holy Apostles, who received from You the power of binding and loosing, pray for them. May all the Saints and elect of God, who in this world suffered torments for Your Name, befriend them; that, being freed from the prison beneath, they may be admitted into the glories of that kingdom, where with the Father and the Holy Ghost Thou lives and reigns one God, world without end. Come to their assistance, all you Saints of God; gain for them deliverance from their place of punishment; meet them, all you Angels; receive these holy souls, and present them before the Lord. Eternal rest give to them,
O Lord. And may perpetual light shine on them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.
This prayer may be prayed within the whole month of November

There is something about Mary

There's Something About Mary

What is significant on the month of September? Perhaps Americans would remember the event of September 11 Twin Tower Tragedy; Our Muslim brothers will observe their holiest month, the Ramadan; Jewish people will celebrate their New Year Festival (Rosh Hashanah): How about us Catholics, what do we liturgically celebrate during September?
September 8, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Birth of Mary .The origin of this Feast is sought in Palestine. It goes back to the consecration of a church in Jerusalem, which tradition identifies as that of the present basilica of St. Ann (as St. Ann and Joachim were the Blessed Virgin Mary’s parents). The Feast began to be kept toward the end of the 7th century, brought there by Eastern monks. The celebration assumed notable importance, becoming a Solemnity but reduced to a simple one during the reform of St. Pius X. The Birth has been assigned to September 8 but in ancient times it was celebrated on different dates from place to place. However, when the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (which has a later origin than that of the Birth) was extended to the whole Church, the Birth little by little became assigned to September 8: (nine months after the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception). It is also good to know that only the Virgin Mary
and St. John the Baptist had the privilege of celebrating their birthdays in liturgy by the Church which most often saints are only by their death anniversaries. Why? Is there Something Special about Mary?
In this light, the birth of the Blessed Virgin is considered to be - like that of John the Baptizer - in direct relationship with the coming of the Savior of the world. Thus, the birth and existence of Mary similar to and even more than those of the Baptizer - take on a significance that transcends her own person. It is explained solely in the context of the History of Salvation, and lies at the bringing to an end the stage of expectation and the promises and inaugurating the new times of grace and salvation in Jesus Christ.

Birthdays for all of us are significant events of our lives, the time we have to thank God for the gift of life He had given to all of us and a time to cherish the wonderful things and blessings God had poured within every span of a year. The birth of Mary is meant in particular toward her mission as Mother of the Savior. Now is the time also to thank the Blessed Virgin Mary that through her we have Jesus as Savior. It is just worthy to give her honor and praise especially on her birthday, the birthday of our dearest Mother.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA MARY !

Br. Allen Iñigo,sss
allen_inigo@yahoo.com.ph

May BUKAS pa or NOW na?

May BUKAS pa or NOW na?

Every Filipinos knew Santino. This child is always seen and viewed on the television ,giving his tele-viewers such heart melting drama scenes in his soap opera “ May Bukas Pa”. What is interesting to the series was its religious theme where Jesus named as “BRO” portrayed as a friend, a brother and a God who is close to the child making him a herald of hope and love to his people. Santino in his early age was an orphan. He experienced many hardships in life yet he had a firm faith and trust in God that he enables to radiate the light and love of God to those people he encounters. Perhaps we may say that Santino was a remarkable child but we can also say, maybe it is only in his portrayals. But do you know that there was once a child in history who was in his early childhood captivated by the love of Christ in the Eucharist? He was St. Peter Julian Eymard. He was not famous as Santino; he was only an ordinary child who by his love to Christ became a saint and apostle of the Eucharist. St. Eymard was born on February 4, 1811 at a small village in France. He grew up to be a very religious lad, faithful to his prayers and generous in his service as an altar server at his local parish. His great desire to be a priest, eminent even when he was very young, drove him to pursue the vocation, even in spite of poverty, poor health and the disapproval of his father. By his perseverance, humility and by the grace of God, Eymard was ordained to priesthood on July 20, 1824 and became parish priest to a couple of villages near his hometown. Eymard became well-loved by his parishioners. He was generous to the poor, patient with the penitents and is very devoted to the catechism of his first communicants, both adults and children alike. He was most remembered for his prayerfulness and for his deep devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
St. Eymard died on August 1, 1868. He left us a unique spirituality centered on the Blessed Sacrament so relevant and refreshing, even to the modern times, that when he was canonized as saint on December 9, 1962, Pope John XXIII declared him the “Apostle of the Eucharist.”
Today, his spiritual legacy continues to live within the communities of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (SSS) around the world. Here in the Philippines, there are already nine SSS communities in various parishes around the country, and three formation houses for seminarians. These communities, through the support and encouragements of some devotees to the Holy Eucharist, aim to further spread the Eucharistic spirituality of St. Eymard to the Filipinos.
If Santino would say “May Bukas Pa” (There will be tomorrow), St. Eymard will say “Tomorrow will be Too Late” ( Hindi pwedeng ipagpa- bukas pa, that means NOW na!)। Let us now respond to God’s call to be promoters and adorers of his divine love, the Eucharist। Like St Peter Julian Eymard, let our hearts be captivated by this love. by ALLEN IÑIGO, SSS

ANG AKALA KO!

Kapatid, game Ka na Ba? When I was a child, in one gathering that I attended, (without knowing it is a celebration of the Holy Eucharist) I asked my mother “Who is that game show host at the middle of the crowd? She told me,” He is the priest.” From that time on, I consider that priests are Game Show hosts. And I observed in the celebration, he is everyone’s center of attention, a presider in the spotlight with dramatized reading, facial expressions, and gestures. Again I asked my mother about it, and then she told me “because that is his role”. Then I consider priests are Best Actors. When he talks, everybody listens; when he walks; he is a sign of graciousness. On the third time I asked my mother, "Are all priests famous?”and she answered, “Yes son, they are well respected and honored in every places”. From that time on I wish to be become a priest because I want to be a game show host, a best actor and a famous personality.
Now as a seminarian looking back to these thoughts, I chuckle। I have new thoughts now. As priestly identity is concern I would say that priests are show hosts of every celebration of the Eucharist as “Alter Christus” – the another Christ who should engaged in a level of profundity in the action of the Church and actual performance of the liturgy, representing Christ to the people. The priest is the presider in the Spotlight, acting to be visibly holy, humble and human. This should be our regular encounter with them and see a priest in front of us who had made clear option for the Gospel and who wanted us to experience and encounter Christ in our life; that whenever we see a priest we have a sense that we are traveling with the Lord everyday of our lives, recognizing him yet burning to find him. The priest is asked to make the entire gift of him, to lay down his whole life as a sign of his great love for the Lord and his flock। This is not something imposed on outside on the person offering himself for the priesthood. It flows naturally from all that it means to be a priest – someone who 'signs', 'images', 'represents' and shares in a very special way the ministry of the Christ, our Eternal high Priest.

We have many thoughts about priests, may these be his weaknesses or aptitudes, but let us dig deeper among our presumptions and misjudgments about them. Huwag tayong maniwala sa ating maling akala. Let us honor and appreciate our priests this special year allotted for them. Let us pray for their sanctification and the need to strive for spiritual perfection.

ALLEN IŇIGO, SSS